1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to LED light displays, and more particularly to a blinking-light LED device attachable to the shoe of an individual or elsewhere on his person whereby a jogging or other movements which produce changes in velocity cause the LED to be intermittently activated to create strobe light effects.
2. Status of Prior Art
A LED is a semiconductor device that emits a reddish light when a voltage is applied thereto. A strobe light uses a gas-discharge flashtube to produce brief, intense flashes of light for high speed illumination, as in photography. In a blinking-light LED device in accordance with the invention, the LED is intermittently activated to emit brief flashes of light in the manner of a flashtube whereby the LED device produces strobe light effects.
The use of LED's to create decorative light patterns is well known. Thus bracelets and other ornamental articles are known in which LEDs mounted in an array are selectively activated by means of an electronic switching circuit connected to a D-C power source, the resultant light pattern depends on which LEDs in the array are simultaneously activated.
The concern of the present invention is with a LED light display device that is both ornamental and useful, for the device also functions as a safety signal to call attention to the individual carrying the device.
Jogging is now a highly popular form of exercise, for no equipment is required other than sports shoes suitable for jogging. Many Americans practice jogging after hours, sometimes well into the night. A jogger running on a public thoroughfare at night is not easily seen. It is for this reason that many joggers wear patches or belts coated with phosphorescent material that continues to glow after being irradiated by light. But a phosphorescent safety belt or patch is not always effective. Thus the driver of an oncoming vehicle may not see a jogger wearing a phosphorescent patch until the vehicle's headlight beam irradiates the phosphorescent material, and by this time it may be too late to avoid an accident.
Moreover, even when phosphorescent material is caused to glow, it is of limited effectiveness as a safety signal, for a steady light does not attract attention as well as a flashing light. Thus the typical airport is provided with strobe light signals, for these brief intense flashes of light are readily distinguished by pilots approaching the airport from steady light sources in the same vicinity.